The FDA gained new powers of forced product recall and sales suspension under the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act. The agency requires all food makers and handlers to register with the FDA in order to sell their products, and if the FDA suspends that registration, no sales can take place until problems are fixed. So after months of frustration with Sunland’s response to a salmonella outbreak, the FDA on Monday suspended the New Mexico company’s registration, thereby locking up its potential sales.

An outbreak of salmonella Bredeney linked to Sunland peanut butter has sickened 41 people in 20 states. Previous FDA reports found lack of handwashing sinks in Sunland facilities, leaking water from bathrooms, employees not wearing gloves while doing final-stage packing, no documentation of equipment getting cleaned, and raw peanuts in uncovered trailers exposed to rain and birds.

More disturbingly, the FDA has said its review of Sunland’s own testing records found 11 lots of nut butter showed salmonella from 2009 to 2012, and that portions of 8 lots were distributed to consumers.

“At no time in its twenty four year history has Sunland, Inc. released for distribution any products that it knew to be potentially contaminated with harmful microorganisms. The Company has followed internal testing protocols that it believed resulted in the isolation and destruction of any product that did not pass the test designed to detect the presence of any contaminants. In every instance where test results indicated the presence of a contaminant, the implicated product was destroyed and not released for distribution,” Shearer said in a statement. He added the company continues to cooperate with the FDA and has responded in detail.